Habitat for Humanity Starts New Project in Old North

On Friday morning Habitat for Humanity held its “First Nail” Celebration as the ceremonial start for their new project which will bring 17 new environmentally-friendly, owner-occupied homes to Old North St. Louis over the next 6 months or so.   The event included greetings from local, state, and federal officials, as well as a welcome to the neighborhood by ONSLRG Board President Tino Ochoa. 

ONSLRG board members (from left to right) Gloria Bratkowski, Johnnie Owens, and Tino Ochoa endured the slight drizzle berfore the program.

Habitat for Humanity-St. Louis executive director Kimberly McKinney, expressed her excitement about the start of construction in Old North and the recent award from the Home Depot Foundation for HfH-STL's sustainable design features.

Tino Ochoa emphasized how the Habitat home-owners will be joining a neighborhood that already is enjoying a good deal of positive development with Crown Square, the upcoming grocery co-op, and much, much more.

Dignitaries and future homeowners (including a few current Old North residents) hammer the first nails into the framing that will go up at one of the first houses on the 1900 block of Hebert.

And in a symbolic gesture of the teamwork and support this project requires, the group collectively raises the first wall.

To learn more about this project, to volunteer, and/or to get on Habitat’s list of prospective homeowners, call 314-371-0400.

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Old North Co-op Gets Help from Student Volunteers

When the Old North Grocery Co-op finally opens for business toward the end of June, the list of people to thank will be quite long.  One of the most recent additions to that list is a group from the John Carroll University chapter of Students Today Leaders Forever who rolled into Old North from Cleveland this past Monday morning.  These college students were on a cross-country tour as part of an alternative spring break in which they spent some time taking part in service projects in different cities each day.

While in Old North, these students helped out with a lot of the messy work of interior clean-up (or clean-out) at the building that will house the co-op.  The photos below show just a sampling of the day’s activities as the 40 or so volunteers mobilized to begin the process of transforming the former horseradish factory into a neighborhood grocery store.

With hardhats, goggles, and face-masks, this crew prepared to remove an obsolete kitchen and open up some space. The photo below shows the progress achieved in just a couple hours of work.

The building still has a long way to go before it’s ready for opening day, but thanks to the energetic and committed group from Students Today Leaders Forever, we got a great start last week.  We’ll continue to report here about other sources of support that are being made available for this great community-building and public health initiative.  In the meantime, if you’d like to pitch in with future work days or contribute in other ways, contact the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group at 314-241-5031 or send an email to info@onsl.org.

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ONSLRG Welcomes Matt Fernandez as new Community Development Specialist

This week ONSLRG welcomed Matt Fernandez as the organization’s new Community Development Specialist, which means Matt now is getting paid to show up for work every day, after the past several months as a part-time contract worker and two previous stints as an intern. 

On his first full day on the job, Matt showed his willingness to do the dirty work of community development.

Already known to many in the neighborhood through his involvement in various projects over the past several years, Matt has been able to hit the ground running due to his familiarity with the community, the organization, and the broad range of issues affecting Old North.  Meanwhile, Matt’s educational background is uniquely suited for working with us, not just because he has an undergrad degree in Urban Affairs and a master’s degree in Urban Planning & Real Estate Development.  While those degrees are good training for neighborhood development work anywhere, Matt took that one step further and made Old North St. Louis the focus of his research throughout his education, including using his Master’s program “capstone project” to explore redevelopment options for the Mullanphy Emigrant Home area.  In addition to his two internships with us, Matt also worked at Landmarks Association while he was in grad school and gained significant experience working on preservation issues.

One important part of the job of the Community Development Specialist is to meet with prospective homebuyers and/or people interested in rehabbing opportunities in Old North.  As someone who has purchased a vacant, deteriorated building in the neighborhood and is in the midst of his own major rehab project, Matt can speak with credibility about the attraction of the neighborhood – and can offer firsthand insights about the process of putting together and managing a project.  And, with direct experience with the challenges of construction & historic rehab, Matt can speak the language of the construction contractors and development partners we have to deal with in our current and future projects.

Another key factor in Matt’s selection was his demonstrated willingness to do whatever needs to be done – whether that means mopping the floor, carting tables and chairs, swinging a hammer, scheduling an appointment with an appraiser, or meeting with a real estate agent at odd hours.  Matt was able to put those skills to work on his first full day on the job, this past Monday when an army of 40 college students arrived to tackle some of the interior clean-out of the future Old North Grocery Co-op building.

Matt (in the brown jacket, back to the camera) providing last-minute instructions to the volunteers from Students Today-Leaders Forever on Monday.

If you’d like to send your own welcome to Matt - or ask him about homebuying or rehab opportunities in Old North, send him an email at Matt@onsl.org or give him a call at the ONSLRG office, 314-241-5031, ext. 101.

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Scenes from ONSLRG’s Annual Meeting & Potluck Supper

On Monday night we hosted a full house of residents and friends for Old North St. Louis Restoration Group’s Annual Meeting & Potluck Supper.

Board President Tino Ochoa discusses the plans for the Old North Grocery Co-op.

Kathleen Parvis, Marketing Committee Chair, announced plans for a bigger and better Old North House & Community Tour, scheduled for Sat., May 8.

In addition to a slide show of highlights from the past year and a preview of coming attractions, ONSLRG’s members elected 5 individuals to serve on the Board of Directors for the 2010-2012 term.  Re-elected to the Board were Tino Ochoa, John Burse, Johnnie Owens, and Kathryn Bentley.  Also elected was Brian Krueger, one of the most active volunteers at the 13th Street Community Garden and the North City Farmers’ Market. 

The meeting also was an ideal occasion to recognize neighbors who have made significant contributions to the quality of life in Old North over the past year.   Good Neighbor Awards were presented to Graham Lane and Ben Sever, who tirelessly gave of their time to numerous projects, including the Macho Action Group clean-ups, set-up at the North City Farmers’ Market, service on multiple committees, and opening their homes for tours on a regular basis; and to Kathleen Parvis, who took the lead on last year’s House & Community Tour and recruited scores of SLU students to assist with neighborhood clean-up and garden projects as part of their law school orientation week.

As usual, though, the highlight for many was the feast of casseroles, cakes, biscuits, and salads from the kitchens of neighbors and friends, and the chance to share a meal with new and long-time neighbors on a cold, wintery evening.

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ONSLRG’s Annual Meeting & Pot-Luck Supper Next Monday, Feb. 15

Next Monday, February 15, the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group will hold its annual meeting and put-luck supper at the ONSLRG office and gallery.  If you’re a member of ONSLRG or just a friend who cares about Old North and want to show your support for the community-based, not-for-profit organization that serves the neighborhood, come on out and join us for a review of the highlights of 2009 and preview of plans for the rest of 2010.  And if you’re not yet a member, you can join now by clicking right here.

Click here to download a PDF of the flyer for this event so that you can print and share with your friends or neighbors.

Above: ONSLRG Board President Tino Ochoa discussed some of the plans for 2009 at last year’s annual meeting.

Above:  a highlight of this annual event is the opportunity to taste some of your neighbors’ favorite recipes.

If you have any questions, just give us a call at the ONSLRG office (314-241-5031) or send an email to info@onsl.org.

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A Neighborhood that Cares about Affordable Housing & Design

Old North St. Louis Restoration Group has always maintained a commitment to the ideal that current and prospective residents, from across the economic spectrum, should be able to find high quality housing opportunities appropriate and affordable for their individual circumstances.  With that said, we were excited to learn that Habitat for Humanity was interested in adding some of their homes to our efforts to ensure that the market in ONSL includes high quality, affordable ownership opportunities.  Last week ONSLRG hosted a community meeting to allow neighborhood residents to hear from Habitat for Humanity staff about their plans to build 17 new, energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly homes in Old North this year.

The large turnout and lively discussion demonstrated that Old North residents are passionate about design related issues.  A lot of conversation focused on whether the contemporary design of the new homes would blend well with the historic character of the neighborhood.  Most historic neighborhoods that have been around for nearly a couple hundred years, however, include a range of housing styles that reflect the diversity of the population and the evolving tastes and construction methods.  While Old North is well known for its red brick, Victorian-era townhouses, the neighborhood is also home to buildings with facades of other materials and colors, as well as variation in size and setback.

It’s worth noting that Habitat’s staff and architects took the time to come up with designs that represent a significant departure from previous homes they’ve built in St. Louis - and with features that reflect characteristics of other homes in Old North, including the neighborhood’s sampling of flounder houses and one-story homes, especially in the northwest part of the neighborhood.

The rendering above shows one of the two-story flounder-style models adjacent to one of the one-story models.

The plan at the moment is for some of the preliminary development work to get started as early as the next month with volunteer crews to be on site for build days in two different waves, one from April through June, and the second from July through September.  The homes are to be built on the 1900 blocks of Hebert and Sullivan, and the 1400 block of Dodier (between Blair and 19th), as shown below.  As the site plan indicates, Habitat’s plan has attracted the interest of EcoUrban, another private developer with a track record for high quality, award-winning green buildings.

For information about how to get on the list for homeownership or to volunteer to help build these homes, contact Habitat for Humanity at 314-371-0400.  To offer your thoughts about how this development fits into the overall redevelopment of Old North St. Louis or for other general neighborhood questions, contact ONSLRG at 314-241-5031 or by email at info@onsl.org.

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Other upcoming events: Meetings with MODOT (Jan. 21) and Habitat for Humanity (Jan. 26)

Now that you’ve got a new calendar for the new year, you can start filling it up with events in Old North, including the following:

Next Thursday, January 21, ONSLRG will host a community meeting with representatives from the Missouri Dept. of Transportation, who will be on-hand to explain plans for the replacement of the Madison Street overpass.  This meeting will start at 7 p.m. and take place in ONSLRG’s Crown Village Gallery, 2700 N. 14th Street.

Then, on Tuesday, January 26, ONSLRG will host a community meeting with Habitat for Humanity.  Staff from Habitat will be present to discuss the plans for the 17 new, homes they’ll be building this year on Dodier, Sullivan, and Hebert.  This meeting also will begin at 7 p.m. in the ONSLRG gallery. 

Feel free to make copies of this flyer for your friends and neighbors and help spread the word.

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Bank of America & United Way to Hold Financial Education Sessions at ONSLRG’s Gallery Jan. 18

On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, next Monday, January 18, Bank of America and United Way of Greater St. Louis will conduct two financial education sessions in Old North St. Louis Restoration Group’s Crown Village Gallery at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.  See below for a flyer with the details.

This event will be open to the public, so please feel free to spread the word.

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Thoughts and Prayers to the Family of Richard Taylor

Richard Taylor, the longtime pastor of 4th Baptist Church and board member of Old North St. Louis Restoration Group for several years until last year, passed away last week after a long illness.   All of us at ONSLRG extend our thoughts and prayers to Richards wife, Linda, and their three daughters.

Richard in the dark sweater, third from right, at the 2008 ONSLRG annual meeting & pot-luck supper.

Richard provided an example of the type of service that has made Old North St. Louis work over many years.  Richard helped many neighbors during difficult times, whether they just needed someone to talk to or a ride to a doctor’s appointment; he served on numerous committees, task forces, and boards; he was always willing to volunteer time on a weekend or evening, to help out with a house tour or other special events; and he never gave up hope of finding resources to restore the 4th Baptist Church building on 13th Street, even after the devastating fire there in September of 2008.  Richard’s compassion and wisdom will be missed by all who had the pleasure of working with him.

Richard (at right) sharing stories of the neighborhood with visitors to the 2008 house tour.

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Open House & Reception at ONSLRG’s New Office -Thurs, Jan. 7, 4-8 p.m.

Click on the link below to download this flyer as a PDF.

onslrg-open-house-jan07-2010

Our December newsletter didn’t get out in the mail, but the cover story still works as an invitation to the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group’s Open House on Thursday, January 7.  Come on out and join us in celebrating the opening of ONSLRG’s new office, the Crown Village Gallery, the Old North Community History Museum, and the neighborhood information center for current and prospective residents.  We’ve been working out of the new office since November, but the open house will be our first opportunity to show off the space for all of our members, friends, supporters and neighborhood residents.  So, please join us on Thursday, Jan. 7 from 4 to 8 p.m. and help us in spreading the word about this cool, new space at Crown Square in the heart of Old North.

With just one day left in 2009, you can still make a tax-deductible contribution to Old North St. Louis Restoration Group to support the preservation of Mullanphy or any of our other work to revitalize the physical and social dimensions of Old North St. Louis in a manner that respects the community’s historic, cultural and urban character.  To make an online donation, just CLICK HERE.  

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